How I Will Be Rich

It seems to be a very popular thing in the Personal Finance blogging community to discuss their thoughts on Robert Kiyosaki. Almost all of the blogs that I read regularly have done some sort of post on him at some time or another. I’ve read many people that love him and his writing and many people that think he’s a phony and that his work is garbage. I’ve read three of his books now and I don’t intend to do full book reviews (at least not yet) but I do want to throw out my two cents on his books and his philosophy.

I’m sort of right in the middle of the two extremes. I value his books for what they are but I’m not sure I agree with some of Kiyosaki’s decisions within his career.

I really enjoyed the books that I read by Mr. Kiyosaki. I think he is a great story teller and that the story he tells is very motivational. It was actually his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad that drew my interest towards personal finance. A co-worker, who is a die-hard fan of his work, lent it to me and told me that it would change my life. Up to that point, I hadn’t read many personal finance books at all. Just stories and comic books. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t much of a fan of reading at all. My friend was right, however, the book did change my life. It didn’t change my life in the sense that I was now on track to financial freedom or to get out of the “Rat Race” but it did spark an interest in personal finance in general. It also gave me a new found joy in reading.

His ideas intrigued me but I was still skeptical to the methods that he used to generate wealth. In fact, after finishing the book, I still didn’t quite understand what his methods to generating wealth were. All of the sudden, I had this interest in making money and generating wealth. His book was like my gateway drug. I enjoyed it but I wanted something more. I wanted more details on how to build wealth and how to achieve financial freedom. His advice was inspirational but just not quite informative enough.

After reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad I purchased his books, Cash Flow Quadrant and Retire Rich, Retire Young. I wanted more insight in to his path to wealth. I found these books to be a whole bunch of the same. A great story, being told by a great story teller with very little concrete, how-to information. What little information he does give is all the cliches that everyone has heard for years. Don’t spend money on things you don’t need, live within your means, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, real estate can make you a lot of money, etc. etc. It’s all been said before but Kiyosaki wraps it all up in to a story about his two dads to try to make it sound like he’s speaking from personal experience.

I recently learned that the story of his two dads was based on his real life but, for the most part, wasn’t fact. It’s all a story that he made up to get his point across and to sell books. I lose a little bit of respect for him over this fact because his entire story that has inspired so many people is all based on a lie. While reading his book, I sort of already had the impression that his story was a little embellished but I didn’t realize that the entire premise was completely made up.

I lose even more respect for the guy when I see how he prices his board game. The game that he constantly discusses throughout all of his books costs about $200! That’s insane. He charges thousands of dollars to go to his seminars to further explain all the same cliches that you can get from his book. I thought he claims that all of his income is passive? I thought all of his money was generated by real estate? Why does he need to take advantage of the people who are desperately seeking the lifestyle that he enjoys by selling his products for prices that his fan base probably can’t afford? I don’t want to go off on a tangent about his, non book, products. I just don’t believe that all of his money is from his real estate practices that are “so easy that anyone can do”.

Back to his books… In conclusion, I think Kiyosaki is a great writer. His book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, will always have its place in my library. After all, it did begin my interest for personal finance. I now read Robert Kiyosaki’s books as what they are, a fictional story with a moral to it. They are like fables where the moral of the story is that anyone can get rich and quit the rat race. He writes inspirational stories that are easy to read but don’t buy them expecting to get answers on how to quit the rat race. Instead you get a vague, fictional, tale on how one man did it himself.

Want to get some other opinions on Kiyosaki?

• Brip Blap Discusses a little about him.
• The Simple Dollar Deconstructs Him.
• Consumerism Commentary Wonders if He’s a Liar?
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich Reviews Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

What do you guys think?

-M

Popularity: 26% [?]

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As anybody who’s been around the blogosphere probably already knows, today is Blog Action Day. Thousands of websites are all coming together to write on the same topic; the environment. Since this is a site about making money, what better topic to discuss than making money while helping the environment.

Recycle. It’s environmentally responsible of you to recycle whether there’s money involved or not and if you are not in a position to make money on your recycling, you’ve still got to take that, morally responsible, high ground and recycle anyway.

What I have in mind for this post is to list off the various things that can be recycled. There is so much more that can be recycled that a lot of people probably don’t know about. Here’s a list:

The Obvious:

• Paper - Everyone knows by now that you can and should recycle paper. Paper comes from trees and, obviously, the destruction of the rain forests is a huge and growing problem. Recycle Old mail, computer printer paper, envelopes, construction paper, newspapers, etc. Find your local recycling center. Some places may pay by the pound.
• Plastic - Round up your 2 liter bottles, milk jugs or any plastic containers and take them to your local recycling center.
• Aluminum - Save all your cans and take them to your local recycling center. There can definitely be some money made here. Collecting a lot of cans can round you up quite a good chunk of change.
• Glass - Clear, green, blue or brown glass can all be recycled. If you take them to the local recycling center. Some places may pay by the pound for these too.

Less Than Obvious

• Telephone Books - Most phone books have instructions somewhere in the book on the steps to take to recycle them.
• Ink Cartridges - There are companies out there that will pay for your old ink cartridges. They can refill them and resell them. Here is a site to recycle ink cartridges and make some money.
• Electronic Equipment - Computer parts, IPods, Stereos etc. can be recycled and the parts can be reused to make new electronic equipment.
• Old CDs - You can resell them to a local music trader or you can recycle them.
• Cell Phones - Companies will buy these off you as well. Cellphones contain an ore called Coltan. Coltan is mined in Central Africa. Miners have been intruding in wildlife reserves and it has been affecting the animal population. Recycling your cellphone cuts down on the mining of this ore, helping protect the Central African habitat.
• Oil - Oil needs to be disposed of properly. If not, it can be very hazardous to the environment. Used oil can actually be re-refined in to a usable lubricating oil. Read more about this here.
• Paint - Paint is very hazardous to the environment if not disposed of properly. You can donate the paint to a charity organization for use in their projects such as in schools, churches or community centers. If you have no place to donate it, make sure you take it to a recycling center or someone who can properly dispose of it.
• Tires - Tires are often piled in to landfills which can cause fires that are very difficult to extinguish. Tires can actually be burned to create a fuel. More information can be found here.
• Wood - As mentioned earlier, cutting down trees leads to big problems. Recycled wood, such as pallets or scraps can be ground down and used in composite woods and create, well, basically, new wood.

There is so much more than what is listed that can be recycled. I urge everyone to get more information on the subject. Anything that you are considering throwing away, “google” it and see if it can be recycled. Everyone can make a difference to help save the environment.

-M

Popularity: 83% [?]

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I’m actually out of town right now. I’ll be back tomorrow. I just wanted to take a second to turn anyone on to this new website called Mint. It’s kind of like a Quicken or MS Money but it’s online and it’s completely free and totally easy. What you will do is sign up and when you first login, you will enter the bank you use and the login and password for the bank. You will repeat that step for all your credit cards and then your set. It will display where your money’s going and give you all sorts of cool reports. There are only two complaints I have so far. 1. It does not support investment accounts yet and 2. I couldn’t put my Nissan Car Loan in. It’s hard to get an accurate picture of your total net worth with out all your debt and all of your assets listed. It’s a very cool program and it looks like it will address those issues very soon. Go Check it out at http://www.mint.com

-M

Popularity: 11% [?]

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I’ve decided to compile a list of blogs that I like. This is a list of sites that if read and followed may make you wealthier, healthier and happier. I know it seems like a lot but if you have a good blog reader, you can subscribe to them and then once a day browse through the titles and just come back to the posts that grab your interests. Originally I was going to make a list of sites to make you wealthy but due to the fact that we’ve launched a new site about health, I thought it would be appropriate to give you some blogs that I read regarding health and happiness as well.

Wealthy

1. Andy Beard -Search Engine Performance, Wordpress, Niche Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Tips
2. Blogging Away Debt - A great site about making money and reducing debt
3. Blue Hat SEO - Tips for marketing and Search Engine Optimization.
4. Blueprint for Financial Prosperity - Earn More, Save More, Live More
5. Boston Girl’s Open Wallet - A single 30-something Bostonian who is seeking enlightenment and control of her Net Worth.
6. Calvin Warr - Fun marketing ideas
7. Clever Dude - Personal finance advice.
8. Consumerism Commentary - More personal finance advice.
9. Copyblogger - Copywriting tips for online marketing success
10. Daily Blog Tips - Another great site that will help you make money blogging.
11. DoshDosh - Helping You Make Money Online
12. Entrepreneurs Journey - Another great site about building wealth through blogging.
13. Finance is Personal - Finance advice posting about 3 times a day. Always fresh material.
14. FiveCentNickel - More personal finance advice.
15. FreeMoneyFinance - Another great site for personal finance advice.
16. Frugal For Life - A site about frugality and spending wisely.
17. Get Rich Slowly - Some more great business and finance advice from a fellow business owner.
18. Hannes Johnson Dot Com - Make money online marketing on the internet.
19. Home Based Business - Online home based business opportunities. Free home business ideas.
20. I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Follow his advice and he may make you rich. (The first finance blog I started reading)
21. It’s Your Money - A Site about wealth building and personal finance.
22. John Chow - This guy wants to teach you how monetize your blog (By any means necessary).
23. Kyle’s Cove - Technology, blogging, WordPress, SEO, and making money online
24. Lazy Man and Money - Another great site for more personal finance advice.
25. Make Money Online The Quick and Easy Way - Watch the journey of one women going from stay at home mom to internet millionaire.
26. Matt Cuts - Great SEO information
27. Mighty Bargain Hunter - A site about being frugal.
28. Money, Matters and More Musings - Another great site about wealth building and personal finance.
29. MsDanielle - Internet Marketing, PPC, and Online Social Networking
30. My Affiliate Journey - Affiliate marketing
31. My Money Blog - A great site about wealth building and personal finance.
32. My Personal Finance Journey - Another really good site about wealth building and personal finance.
33. My Two Dollars - A place to discuss money for the rest of us.
34. North x East - A site with a lot of blogging tips.
35. Not Made of Money -A Site about saving money and frugality.
36. One Man’s Goal - Watch one man make the journey to become a full time blogger.
37. Online Marketing Blog - A blog about online marketing.
38. Personal Finance Advice - The name says it all.
39. ProBlogger - Want to make money blogging? This site can teach you how.
40. Pronet Advertising - Read about one man’s experiences in online marketing.
41. QuickSprout - Tips for marketing and Search Engine Optimization.
42. Search Engine Land - Learn about Search Engines.
43. ShoeMoney - Another site with ideas on making money on the internet.
44. Simply Thrifty - A site about being frugal.
45. StockTradingToGo - A great resources for investing tips.
46. The Digerati Life - Personal finance advice from a great writer.
47. The Simple Dollar - All sorts of personal finance advice.
48. Young and Broke - More personal finance advice.

Healthy

49. DietHack - A great site for health related articles.
50. FatBlokeThin - Losing weight the Buddhist way.
51. HealthMad - More tips to live healthy by many authors.
52. Healthy, Fast and Cheap - A site about cooking foods that are healthy, fast and cheap.
53. Her Active Life - A great site about eating healthy and excersize (great tips for men and women).
54. He’s Fit - A great site about eating healthy and excersize (great tips for men and women).
55. Live Live… Organics & Your Health - A great site with tips on healthy living.
56. Nurture Your Life - Another great site with tips on healthy living
57. Raising a Healthy Family - The name says it all.
58. Ririan Project - Tons of great tips to live a healthier lifestyle.
59. Sexual Health Buzz - A site about staying healthy while being sexually active.
60. Spine-Health - For those people who suffer from neck and back pain (Like I often do).
61. The Diet Pulpit - Eat healthy.
62. The Final Sprint - A great health site with a major focus on running.
63. Total Wellbeing - Healthy living for the body and mind.

Happy

64. 43 Folders - Personal productivity and ways to make your life better.
65. Brip Blap - A blog about life, family, career, personal finance, career, productivity, health and the environment.
66. Dumb Little Man - A group blog of people giving tips for anything and everything.
67. Genius Types - Creative Life and Money.
68. LifeHack - Another Site about pretty litterally, everything.
69. LifeHacker - Literally, A site about everything.
70. Pick the Brain - A great site about self improvement.
71. Scott H. Young - Another great site about self improvement.
72. Steve Pavlina - Personal development for smart people.
73. The Blog of Author Tim Ferris - A great site with tons of advice about everything.
74. The Consumerist - A Site about everything to make life better.
75. The Happiness Project - The name says it all.
76. The Positivity Blog - Be happy and be positive. Great Advice.
77. The Thinking Blog - Expand Your Mind.
78. ZenHabits - A site about organizing your life and becoming a happier person.

That’s my long, comprehensive reading list. As you can see, I read a lot of blogs. Feel free to comment on who else deserves to be on the list and what not. Check out these blogs and enjoy!

-M

Popularity: 72% [?]

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Some people may be wondering what happened to Joe. He hasn’t been around posting or making comments for a while. Well there’s a good explanation for that… Joe and I have started a second blog. Don’t worry it won’t take away from this blog at all. There are two of us and two blogs. The second blog is about health and relaxation and is called Be Healthy and Relax. It has actually been in the works for quite some time now but we wanted to get some content on there before we unleashed it to the world.

Joe is a health nut with a little bit of financial knowledge and I’m a finance nut with a little bit of health knowledge. Joe will pretty much focus his efforts on the health blog while I will focus on this blog. Every once in a while he’ll pop in here to post about what he’s learned and provide some financial advice and every once in a while I’ll pop in over there and provide some health advice. This will be real beneficial for the both of us because we are both taking each other under the other’s wing, so to speak. He’s teaching me about health and forcing me to pay more attention to it and I’m forcing him to pay attention to finance. Please go over and check it out when you get a chance. He’s already posted quite a few pretty quality articles. You can subscribe to Be Healthy and Relax Here.

So Here you Go:

Be Healthy and Relax

-M

Popularity: 11% [?]

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